WWE wrestling legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper has died at his California home at the age of 61, the athlete and actor’s agent confirmed Friday. One of his most memorable performances came in the main event of WWE’s (then known as the WWF) inaugural WrestleMania.
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WWE issued a statement on Piper’s passing, saying, “WWE is deeply saddened that Roderick Toombs, aka “Rowdy” Roddy Piper – WWE Hall of Famer and Intercontinental Champion – passed away today at the age of 61″.
Piper leaves behind a wife, Kitty, and also had four children throughout his life, with three being girls and one being a boy.
In 1984 he joined Vince Mcmahon ” s World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), coming in as a heel character and initially fronting his own interview segment, “Piper’s Pit“. He was family to me, a brother who loved me and was there for me through my darkest days.
However, none of them ever had as much a natural “heat” about them as “Hotrod” Rowdy Roddy Piper.
Piper told CNN’s Larry King in 2000 that he got his wrestling name when very early in his career his took the place of a no-show wrestler and the announcer – who knew he played the bagpipes – introduced him as Roddy the Piper. “Rest well friend, you will be missed”.
The wrestler had been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and starred in a number of cult films including “Hell Comes To Frog Town”.
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Piper was reportedly diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2006, but was able to recover by 2014, according to MyFoxAtlanta. Piper retired in 2011 after wrestling and entertaining fans in over 7,000 matches. He was my closest friend in the business, a man that schooled me and guided me throughout my career. TMZ reports that the retired wrestling superstar appeared to be healthy and was cancer free at the time of his death, following a bout with the disease less than a decade ago. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this great loss. He was one of a kind and one of the all time greats. What a sweet message for Roddy’s grieving family. “God bless you, Bubba”.
